Valencia 2-1 Villarreal: The Frustration Continues

Yet again, Villarreal had plenty of opportunities to defeat an opponent who was far from their best, and yet again, came away with nothing.

Yes, the cast was different, but the question remains—if one of our strikers has an off-day (Gerard, Toko Ekambi) or a star player is missing (Santi, Iborra)—can we overcome it? Just like against Celta, the answer today was no.

20 shots, only one goal. A penalty early on, easily saved.

And just like against Celta, while we make most of the running and control 60% of the possession, the opposition makes the clinical runs into the area and finishes successfully. (Asenjo is not playing at his best, either). 24 goals conceded now from 15 matches—too many.

THE GOOD: Anguissa was certainly the man of the match, and Trigueros and Morlanes acquitted themselves well in midfield.

THE BAD: Someone who was at the practice yesterday said Santi could not put any weight on his ankle after the sprain, which suggests he may be out until the New Year.

THE UGLY: Gerard’s penalty (he’s now 2 for 6 in the Primera).

And after 5 wins in 7, we have one point from our last five matches, and Atleti visit on Friday.

I know Sr. Roig says Calleja is his man. I know too changing coaches didn’t work well last year. But if we are on 18-20 points after the Getafe match, we’re likely to find ourselves in the bottom five, only 2 or 3 points above the relegation zone. And at that point....

I hate it when we have to contemplate these sorts of things. Endavant Villarreal.